Is Carnival Cruise lines just having a bad couple of years, or do they just suck?

[randomness]

The news about the Carnival Triumph and its recent troubles got me to looking into the line's recent record:

• On November 8, 2010, a fire broke out in the generator room of the Carnival Splendor and the ship lost most power.


• On January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia, operated by a Carnival subsidiary, ran aground off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany. The ship capsized and partially sank, killing 32 people.


• In March 2012, the Costa Allegra, owned by Carnival Cruise Lines' Costa Cruises subsidiary, suffered an engine room fire and went adrift in the Indian Ocean.


• In February 2013, the Carnival Triumph, with 3,143 passengers aboard, suffered an engine room fire, leaving the ship adrift for days in the Gulf of Mexico.

Is this number of incidents normal for cruise lines? Is Carnival Cruise lines known to be more accident prone than other lines? They do have a large fleet, so I suppose it could just be random chance, but it doesn't seem like a good record.

I don't know the first thing about cruise lines and their reputations, so I'm asking.

Comments

[vdansk]

I have done three cruises so far. The first, a seven day Disney Cruise, was the best vacation of my life so far--ideal for someone who loves their kids, but also wants time without them. The second, a three day Disney Cruise, was much too short, but still very nice. And my third last April on...wait for it...Carnival was not bad, but no where near as nice as Disney. The girls had fun at the kid and teen programs, but there were a lot of poorly disciplined kids in the pools and hall ways, and it was much more cramped; Charles had to duck everywhere he went.

We will definitely cruise again, but not with Carnival.

Oh, and get a balcony. Better when things are good, much better if things go wrong.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Thanks for coming in on this. I was hoping to hear from friends who had actual cruise experience.

Consensus on this subject seems to be that Carnival is worth avoiding, and that Disney is great if you have kids.

[vdansk]

You don't actually have to have kids, but you do have to enjoy Disney. My step brother and sister in law adore the Disney Cruises, and don't have kids. There are plentiful adults only areas. However, if the 90th hidden mickey will make you run screaming, this may not be the line for you. :) I, naturally, adore it.

And a belated happy birthday!